Houghton Mifflin Harcourt filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York’s Southern District Court Monday morning, listing debt of more than $1 billion each in the initial court filing. As previously reported, HMH is going through a pre-packaged bankruptcy to eliminate more than $3 billion in debt left over from the initial $7 billion accrued when Riverdeep merged Houghton Mifflin and Harcourt together several years ago, and hopes to complete its financial restructuring by the end of June. Court documents filed by HMH’s counsel Paul, Weiss, Rifkind and Garrison lists assets of “between $10 million and $50 million,” as well […]
Archives for May 2012
People
Cambridge University Press chief operating officer since 2010 Peter Phillips moves up to chief executive of the publisher, taking over from Stephen Bourne as he gives up the top position as planned though continues to work with the Press. Phillips had previously been on the board of UK communications and media regulator Board of Ofcom, and served as coo for BBC News and director of business development for the BBC in the past. For Neil Young‘s high-profile interview at BEA on Wednesday, June 6, it has been announced that author and musician Patti Smith will be the one asking the questions. (Seating at the lunchtime […]
eNews: Hachette Testing Pilot Library eBook Programs with Two Distributors; The Atavist Will Launch Free Content Tool; and More
Hachette is set to test pilot ebook library programs with two unnamed distributors sometime this spring, according to the ALA, which met with the publisher last week. Hachette discontinued the sale of new ebooks to libraries back in April 2010 (though backlist titles remained on offer) and the ALA believes “these pilot programs will help HBG learn more about library patrons’ interests, usage, and expectations, and help the publisher devise the best strategy to reach the widest audience of ebook readers in libraries.” The Atavist will produce a free version of its online content platform this summer, the NYT reports, […]
Waterstone’s In “Far-Reaching” Alliance with Amazon to Sell Kindle
Already running late with its promised ereading initiative, Waterstones announced that “a far-reaching partnership” with Amazon “to launch new e-reading services and offer Kindle digital devices through its UK shops.” Downplayed in coverage of the announcement is that, even with a plug-and-play solution, Waterstones still won’t be ready to launch the initiative until sometime “in the Autumn.” First they need to install wi-fi in their stores (which apparently they had never done previously). Waterstone’s managing director James Daunt says in the press release, “The best digital readers, the Kindle family, will be married to the singular pleasures of browsing a […]
IDPF Suggests Exploring New Type of DRM
As the industry takes a fresh look at whether or not to lift DRM from ebooks to provide readers with greater flexibility (and something closer to real ownership and control of their files) and potentially loosen the “lock in” of particular platforms, the IDPF has published a draft proposal outlining another possible path. The digital standards organization suggests the possibility of developing a “lightweight content protection technology” that would be easily interoperable across multiple platforms, as an alternative both to current “heavy” DRM and to the lighter-still “watermarking” of personal data that Pottermore has used on the Harry Potter ebooks. […]
People: Harlequin Reorganizes Marketing Channels Into Single Digital Unit
Earlier this month Harlequin reorganized its North American digital, retail, direct-to-consumer, and physical sales and marketing channels into a single division, which will be spearheaded by Craig Swinwood, named coo of the entire division. “By bringing these groups together under a single division, we wanted to strengthen the focus on the customers, enjoy the synergies of the marketing group and help build Harlequin’s brand further,” Swinwood told us Friday morning. “We’re committed to being available wherever, whenever, and however women want to shop.” As part of the reorganization, Brent Lewis, now executive vp digital and retail marketing, will oversee a […]